


Childish Error

by CrazyNekoChan



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Island Mode (Dangan Ronpa), M/M, Neo World Program (Dangan Ronpa)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 09:17:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13633323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyNekoChan/pseuds/CrazyNekoChan
Summary: There is an error within the Neo World Program and Kazuichi gets turned into a child for a day. Now Gundham has to live with the consequences.





	Childish Error

**Author's Note:**

> Firstly, sorry that there is still no update for 'An Idiot in Love', but I had hardly any time due to work. To at least post something, I decided to write this over the last few days, whenever I had a few minutes to spare and wasn't able to work on anything else  
> Most of this story was written on my tablet, while I was on break at work
> 
> Secondly, a little disclaimer, since I know how some people on the internet are and I don't want people to misinterpret this story  
> This story is in no way meant to be seen as romantic between Gundham and the child version of Kazuichi and I tried to make it as obvious as possible that Gundham sees the child version and the adult version as 2 completely different people  
> Again. **There is nothing romantic going on between them!**  
>  (I was actually unsure if I should even upload this story, but I decided to do it in the end and just put in this disclaimer)

The sun was shining through the curtains of Gundham's cottage, announcing the morning and thus the time he had to awaken to start a new day on the tropical island known as Jabberwock Island. After getting up from bed and pushing his bangs out of his eyes, he began his daily routine of getting ready for the day, where he and the other mortals had to collect the Hope Fragments and materials for different assignments. After finishing getting washed and dressed, and offering his Devas their first meal of the day, he made his way towards the hotel, where the students assembled every morning anew to share their first meal.

They had been on the island for a while now, months even, yet when Gundham arrived at the hotel's dining area like every morning, he had never before heard such a commotion going on.

Raising one eyebrow in confusion and slight annoyance at hearing so much racket going on after only waking up a short while ago, Gundham walked into the lobby of the hotel.

“What is going on in here, that you mortals have to make such an insufferable noise, in this early hour?” Gundham asked into the round and some of the present mortals turned towards him, while most of them kept facing away and were talking with distress in their voices.

It was then the Athletic Warrior who answered the question, yet it only confused the Overlord more than it did before. “There's some weird whining kid here suddenly and we don't know where he came from.”

The Overlord looked at his classmate with disbelieve. They were alone on this tropical island and the only other living beings here were the animals and the talking rabbit that called herself their teacher, Usami. So there was no way that there would suddenly be an young mortal here.

Yet when he walked towards his allies, he did in fact find a small child hiding behind a potted plant. On closer inspection he could see that this child had dishevelled, black hair and big brown eyes, and was only wearing a way too large, white shirt that looked more like a dress on him than a shirt. Somehow all of this was highly familiar for him, however he could not place why this was. He could not remember seeing any children here before.

 

It was then the Princess of Darkness that entered the lobby, followed by Usami, and both carefully walked towards the frightened child. The She-Cat kneeled onto the floor to be on eye-level with the child and gave a non-threatening smile, “Hello there, I'm princess Sonia Nevermind and this is our teacher Usami. Say, where did you come from? Are your parents nearby?”

The child squinted his eyes together and was looking as the She-Cat and the rabbit. After a few moments he mumbled with a whiny voice. “I dunno... I woke up in a room and don't know where I am and I'm scared...” he explained and used his sleeve to wipe his eyes.

Usami walked towards the child and summoned a tissue with a wave of her wand. “Here, you can clean your face with this.”

The unnamed child carefully regarded the magical rabbit, before taking the tissue and blowing his nose with it. “Are ya a robot?” he asked, his voice getting more steady now as his interest was caught by the teacher.

“No, I'm a rabbit and my name is Usami.” the teacher explained proudly, “And what is your name?”

The child then answered, shocking all of the present people in the room. “I'm Kazuichi Souda.”

“Whaaat?!” Usami shrieked in an even higher pitched voice than normal, “You are Kazuichi? But why are you so young?” The rest of the class had similar reactions to this revelation. They either screamed out of shock or began asking a lot of questions towards the child. Gundham stared at the young mortal in utter disbelieve that this child was supposedly Kazuichi Souda, his boyfriend. He had seen the Tamer of Automations only the prior day and the mechanic had been in the same age as Gundham was and not what seemed to be at the age of four or five.

Yet the child carried a striking resemblance to the Tamer of Automations. He had the same sharp fangs that made Kazuichi stand out between all the other mortals and he also had the black hair and brown eyes that the Sharp Toothed One always tried to conceal from the world.

“What sorcery is this?!” Gundham asked shocked. How could the other be a child so suddenly? There was no way that this was possible! Yet stranger things have happened on this cursed island.

 

Due to all of the commotion and screaming of the young adults, the young Kazuichi got scared and hid behind the plant again, while crying.

“Ah, please don't cry.” Usami was obviously overwhelmed with this development and frankly, Gundham could not blame her. He was just as overwhelmed by this whole situation and did not know what he should do now.

“Hey Tanaka.” the yakuza walked up towards him, “If that really is Souda, then maybe you should talk to him and make him stop crying.”

“Ah, you might be right.” Gundham agreed out of reflex. However he had no idea how he should do this. He had no experience with talking with children; even over the time where he himself had been a young mortal he rarely talked with them. Still he had to try and find out why Kazuichi was supposedly suddenly a child, so he walked up towards him and kneeled down next to the Princess of Darkness.

“My param-... Kazuichi.” It was strange to call his boyfriend with his usual title, giving his current state. Even just the mere thought that this child was supposedly his boyfriend, was making Gundham feel utterly unwell, simply because the other had suddenly turned into a child for a reason he could not phantom. “Do you know who I am?”

The child looked at Gundham with uncertainty if he could trust him, before shacking his head. Gundham had expected as much. “I am called Gundham Tanaka and I am also known as the Overlord of Ice and Ruler of this World!” At the shake of his cursed hand, his trusted Devas climbed out of his scarf. “And these are my Dark Devas of Destruction.”

While the young Kazuichi still seemed wary about Gundham, his mood immediately improved as soon as he saw the four Devas. Coming out of his hiding place, he pointed at the Devas, “Are they yours? Can I pet them? Please, I am careful.”

“If you promise to be careful, as their wrath will come upon you if you hurt their mortal form, you may pet them.” Gundham agreed and held his hand out, on which Jum-P was sitting.

Carefully the sharp toothed child began petting the Deva and giggled. “It's fluffy.”

Jum-P sniffed at the child's hand and started squeaking excitedly. The Deva then climbed onto the small mortal and was followed by the other three Devas, making Kazuichi giggle more. It seemed like the Four Dark Devas of Destruction could recognise the smell, hinting that this child might really be Kazuichi.

“What should we do now?” the She-Cat asked into the round, now that the child was calm again. “If that really is Souda, we need to do something to turn him back into his original self.”

“Maybe Usami can use her magic to turn him back, I think...” Nanami suggested, however before anyone was able to get their hopes up, the rabbit shook her head.

“I can't, at least for now.” she answered in a dispirited voice, but turned upbeat again shortly after, “But I will try my best to find a solution for this problem! You can count on me, so please look after him for the meantime.” she added before running off, leaving the students alone with the small child.

“We should also look for a solution, since that rabbit is fucking useless.” the Easily Angered One said, before the photographer warned him for using such foul language next to a small child.

“The cursing aside, Kuzuryu is right that we also should go looking for some clues.” Togami took on the role of a leader, “So we all will split up into groups. One group will try to find Souda in the off chance that this child isn't the same person and the next group will search for a way to either turn Souda back or, if he isn't really the same Souda, find out where he came from. We also need someone to look after Souda in the meantime and Hanamura, please go and prepare breakfast while we all search for clues.”

The Lascivious Chef agreed and left towards the upper floor to fulfil his assigned duty, while the heir named the Ordinary One the leader of the first group and himself as the leader of the second group. Both began to split the other students up into groups, when Kazuichi tugged at Gundham's coat, gaining his attention.

“Is something the matter, young mortal?”

“Please stay.” the child mumbled, keeping his hold on Gundham's coat. This made the Overlord quite speechless. Never before did a child wish to stay in his presence, but if this really was the same Kazuichi, it might explain the request.

“If you wish for it, I will stay and look after you.” Gundham agreed, even if he had no real idea what he should do with a child and actually had planned to search for his dark consort. However he could not abandon this child and he never was able to deny any request of Kazuichi in the first place; that he now supposedly was in the form of a child made no exception of this fact.

 

As soon as everyone had their assigned role, the group spread out to find out what had happened with the Sharp Toothed One and why the young Kazuichi was present on the island all of the sudden. In the end the Overlord was left alone with the small mortal.

He still was unsure what to do with him, but looking at the child, he could at least think about one thing that was needed to be dealt with. “We should visit the store and see if we can find some more fitting garments for you, as it would be inappropriate if you kept on walking around in only a shirt.”

“Ya talk funny.” the child laughed in a way that sounded so much like Kazuichi's laugh did. “But what are.. gamens?”

“Garments. And they are clothes.” Gundham explained to the child, “However we should go now or we might miss our first meal of the day.”

Just as Gundham wanted to start walking, Kazuichi held his hand out towards him, just like any child would do. Gundham was slightly reluctant to take the hand at the first moment, as he did not like to be touched. However the thought that this might as well be Kazuichi, one of the rare mortals that was immune against his poison, made him take the hand into his own. The hand was small in Gundham's own and did not have the familiar calloused skin from working on machines for years on end.

 

The two left the hotel lobby and walked towards the supermarket that was located on the first island. Gundham did not believe that they would stock children's clothing, but it was worth a try to see if they at least had something for the small mortal to wear. When they walked into the building, Gundham was speechless yet again, as the first thing he saw had been a set of different children's clothing. They have not been there before and he was sure that the whole display had not been there the last time he had been in the building. While this made no sense, just like the child who's hand he was holding being present on this island, he would not complain as it would make this easier for him.

Walking towards the display, Gundham looked at the child. “Is there anything that you find pleasing?”

Kazuichi however only crooked his head to the side, “What?”

Gundham did not consider the possibility that such a young mortal could not understand everything like an adult would be able to, so he needed to use a more easier way of communication. “Is there anything that you would like to wear?”

“Oh.” the child's eyes widened in realisation, before he walked towards the display and went on his toes to look at the clothes that were displayed. He was hardly able to look at the clothes with him not even being one meter tall, so Gundham picked every article up and showed it to the young mortal.

“I want that!” Kazuichi pointed at a shirt with a rocket printed across of it. Gundham regarded the different sizes and took a few variations of the shirt to let Kazuichi try them on. He then did the same with all the other needed articles of clothing.

Gundham walked Kazuichi to the changing rooms provided in the store. “Can you manage it on your own to try them on?”

“I'm not a baby!” the child exclaimed and walked into the changing room. Gundham placed the clothes on the chair, before leaving the changing room, “I will wait out here, while you try on the clothes.” he then closed the curtain behind himself.

While he was temporarily separated from the child, Gundham started thinking about this whole ordeal. Could this child really be Kazuichi? It was ludicrous, yet everything about the way the young mortal behaved reminded the Overlord of his dark consort. At least it reminded him of a younger version of him; not yet scarred by the cruelty of the world. He could only hope that either his paramour was running around somewhere on the island or, if this child truly was the same Kazuichi, that his allies would be able to find a way to turn him back into his actual self.

Time passed and there was yet to be a reaction of Kazuichi, so Gundham turned back towards the dressing room. “Are you sure that you are able to do this task on your own?”

Shuffling could be heard, before a tiny voice sounded out. “No...”

“Then I will come in and assist you with this task.” Gundham announced, to not startle the child and when he heard an agreement, he walked into the dressing room where Kazuichi was sitting on the chair in defeat. He did manage to put on some underwear that fitted him, but all the other garments where scattered on the floor.

“Can you tell me, what you tried on?” he asked the child and when Kazuichi pointed at some articles, Gundham placed them to the side. Picking up the other clothes, he began dressing Kazuichi and tried out which articles fit him until the child was fully dressed.

 

When Kazuichi was dressed and all the unused clothes placed back onto the display, the Overlord then picked up the shirt that the young mortal had been wearing before. It was unmistakably one of his consort's garments.

“Before we return to the hotel to eat, we need to go and return this shirt.” Gundham declared and took the child by his hand. Leaving the store he walked to the entrance of the hotel where the cottages where located. As soon as he did, the Ordinary One walked up towards them.

“Tanaka, there you are; I've been looking for you. Do you have the keys to Kazuichi's room? I wanted to see if he's in there, but I can't get in.” Hinata said in the hope that Gundham was able to help.

“Yes, I am in the possession of the Pink Haired One's spare key. I was actually on my way there, so you can join us.” Gundham answered and continued his way towards the cottage, together with Kazuichi and Hinata. Arriving there, he let go of the child's hand to get out his keychain, containing his and his consort's room keys, and unlocked the door. Entering Kazuichi's realm, he was not surprised that there was no trace of the pink haired mechanic and this only worsened the unwell feeling deep inside his stomach.

When he brought the shirt into the bathroom, he could see that Kazuichi's contact lenses and earrings were still lying on top of the sink, so Gundham was sure that his paramour would not have left the room under normal circumstances. The Tamer of Automations got highly self-conscious whenever someone saw him without his contacts and only allowed his closest allies to see him with his natural brown eyes.

The slight tugging at his coat caught Gundham's attention. Turning his head to his side, he saw Kazuichi looking up towards him. “Gundham, I'm hungry.”

“Then we should return to the hotel.” Gundham took the child by the hand and left the bathroom. The Ordinary One was looking through the cottage in the hope to find some clues about this mystery. “We will go to the dining room to consume our meal. Will you join us, Ordinary One?”

“I want to finish here, then I will follow you two.” Hinata answered before turning back to his task at hand.

“Thank you for your hard work.” Gundham replied, before taking the child by the hand again and leaving his consort's realm. If he were entirely honest with himself, he wished to stay and help search. However he had to fulfil his assigned duty and take care of this young mortal.

 

Upon entering the dining room, located one story above the hotel lobby, Gundham and Kazuichi were greeted by a few of their allies. The heir was one of them and was doing a headcount of all the present mortals, while having a conversation with the Princess of Darkness. The food was already served and some mortals, like the Athletic One, where already consuming some of it.

Making Kazuichi sit at one of the tables, Gundham went and collected food for the young child, basing his selection on what he knew that the adult Kazuichi liked to eat and his knowledge of what a young mortal should consume. After he took something for himself to consume, he placed one of the plates in front of the young Kazuichi and took a seat next to him. Kazuichi immediately began digging in, his hunger showing itself now. Gundham kept his eyes on the small child, making sure that he was able to eat on his own, before turning towards his own meal. However he did not feel any appetite for his food. His thoughts were consumed with the mystery concerning the child sitting next to him and what may have happened to his dark consort.

A few moments later the last of the students entered the dining room and the heir called out to gain everyone's attention. “Did any of you find something out yet?”

It was the Ordinary One that answered first, “I looked in his room and there was no sign of him and I asked the others in my team and they also didn't find him yet. So we will keep looking for him.”

“Nanami and I went through the library, but we also didn't find any clues on how to turn him back.” the She-Cat explained, “But there are still many books that we didn't look through yet, so we might still be able to find something.” All the other students gave similar answers and each answer made Gundham feel more anxious. He had to help his consort, but he had to stay with the young child and look after him.

 

As soon as everyone had finished their respective meals, all of the students dispersed again to continue their search and meet up again as midday hit. Only Gundham and Kazuichi were left in the dining room, leaving the Overlord with his thoughts, while the young Kazuichi was occupied with playing with the four Devas.

“Did everybody already leave?” the high-pitched voice of Usami sounded out, “I missed everyone, but I wanted to tell you all that I found something out about Kazuichi.”  
“Then do tell me this information and I will pass it on towards the other mortals.” Gundham crossed his arms and looked at the magical rabbit. He wanted this information and did not plan on waiting for it.

“Of course!” the rabbit looked proud, “I was able to find out that this cute child is indeed Kazuichi Souda, the Ultimate Mechanic!”

Gundham had suspected and feared as much. This child looked and acted too similar to the Tamer of Automations to be a mere coincidence. “Do you know who has cursed him with this form and most importantly, do you know how to turn him back?”

The prior self certainty of the magical rabbit vanished almost instantly, leaving her fidgeting with a loss of words. “Well... I... there is no way to say how this happened... But as far as I could find out, this problem should go away after a while... at least I hope so.”

“So you are saying that it might go away after a while has passed, but there is a chance that he will stay in this form?” Gundham asked just to make sure and he was not entirely happy with this news. While it was a good thing to know that they only had to wait for this curse to wear off, the possibility that it might not wear off and that the other could stay a young child made Gundham's chest feel tight. He wished to have the One that Shared his Path back at his side in his original form and not in the body and mind of a child.

“Yes... it might be permanent.” Usami mumbled, before sounding upbeat again, “But we just have to hold onto our hope and all work together, then I know that everything will be fine in the end.”

Gundham could only hope that the creature was right and Kazuichi would turn back, as even his dark powers could not undo such a curse.

“I will let the others know, so please keep on looking after- wah!” the rabbit began talking, but gave a scream in the middle of it, as Kazuichi's curiosity was caught by the talking creature and he began inspecting her.

“Are ya really no robot?” the younger version of the mechanic asked and began poking Usami, trying to find out if she had any kind of opening or something that showed how she looked like on the inside.

“Yes!” she jumped away, holding her paws in front of her body, “And you can't just go and touch the body of a lady!”

“Lady?” Kazuichi crocked his head to the side and placed his finger on his lower lip, “But ya're a bunny.”

“I'm both, a rabbit and a lady.” Usami tried to explain, however the young mortal did not seem like he understood what she was trying to say. “Just don't do this again, okay?”

“Okay...” the child agreed, but sulked as he still wanted to find out what the creature really was. It was the same situation with the adult mechanic, who also wished to know if the rabbit was a machine or a truly magical being as she claimed to be.

“Now that we have that sorted out, I will let the other students know, so I will see you two later.” Usami said one final time and left the dining room.

 

So this child truly was his dark consort; more or less at least. Gundham still felt highly unwell to think about a child with this title, even if that child was originally 17 years of age. In the end he could only wait and simply think off this young mortal as a child that needed his protection.

“Gundham, It's borin'” Kazuichi leaned with his arms against Gundham's lap, “Can we please play?”

“I guess we could. Do you have anything that you wish to play?” Gundham had no idea what young mortals liked to do in their free time and it was not like he could let a child work on heavy machines like his adult self liked to do, so he simply had to accommodate to the child's wishes for the time being.

Kazuichi looked around like he was deep in thought and was nibbling on his lower lip. “I dunno.”

This was not helpful in the slightest.

Sighing internally, Gundham then suggested “Maybe we could go outside and find some form of entertainment for you?”

“Yay!” Kazuichi jumped into the air out of excitement, “First one out wins!” he ran off.

Getting up from his chair and gathering his four trusted Devas, Gundham followed close behind him. He easily caught up with the child, due to him being able to walk longer strides than a child with short legs could, but he still let Kazuichi win in his little race.

Kazuichi jumped into the air out of pure joy over winning, “I won, I won!” This reaction made Gundham also smile, to his own surprise.

“I guess you did win. Congratulations, Young One.”

“Now I can say what we'll play!” Kazuichi decided, like this had been part of the bargain from the very beginning. Not that Gundham minded, as he still had no idea what he should suggest that the child could play.

Kazuichi began looking around until his eyes caught the site of the ocean. “Can we go swimming? Please!”

“You wish to go swimming in the open sea? Do you even know how to swim?” Gundham looked at the child with uncertainty.

“No...” Kazuichi confessed, “But I will stay near ya, I promise!”

The Overlord was not entirely keen on going into the ocean, as he was not exactly gifted with the skill of moving in water. Yet when the child looked up at him with, what the mortals called, puppy eyes, Gundham could not deny him this request. “If you wish for it, we could go. However you have to promise to not go far into the water, Young One.”

“I promise!” Kazuichi gave a big toothy grin and took Gundham by the hand, “Now let's go.” he then tried to pull the way taller male.

“Before we do that, we will have to get changed, so let us return to the shop and collect everything we need.” Gundham declared and walked towards the supermarket together with the child. To his surprise, everything that he needed was again provided there, including children's swimwear and swim tubes. One day the Overlord had to find out who stocked this market and where all the articles offered came from. But this was a task for another day.

 

After both mortals had changed into the appropriate garments and packed everything that they needed into a bag, they made their way towards the beach.

As they arrived there, they saw the She-Cat who also was at the beach to look around.

“Gundham, Kazuichi.” she walked up towards them, “The others and I have talked with Usami and she told us about Kazuichi's condition. It seems that there is nothing we can do right now.”

“It sadly does seem this way.” Gundham nodded, “We can only wait now and hope for the best possible outcome.”

“You are right, we just have to hope.” Sonia smiled, “Anyway, are you two going swimming?” she asked and regarded the swimwear that both were wearing.

“Yes!” Kazuichi answered happily. “I won against Gundham, so he will go swimming with me.”

The She-Cat had to giggle at the display. “I see. Then I wish the two of you much fun, but be careful while playing in the water.”

“I will.” Kazuichi grinned, hanging slightly on Gundham's hand.

“That is good.” the princess patted the child on the head, before turning towards Gundham. “He has really found a liking for you. You would be a great parent one day.”

This statement made the Overlord's face turn a slight pink colour. Clearing his throat, he tried to force his embarrassment away. “While I appreciate the compliment, you are aware that I am sharing my path with the Tamer of Automations and that he and I are both of the male species? Not to mention that Kazuichi is currently trapped in the body of a child, which is still slightly disturbing.”

“I know. But Kazuichi will surely turn back soon and we will leave this island in a few months, so it is something to think about.” the She-Cat smiled, “But I have to leave now. If you need my help with anything, I will be at the library and try to find another solution for this problem. Again, have fun you two.”

“Bye-bye Oneechan.” Kazuichi waved after her.

 

When the Princess of Darkness walked around the corner and out of sight, Gundham and Kazuichi continued their way towards the ocean and the younger mortal instantly tried to go into the water. However he was stopped by Gundham, before he was able to.

“Before you can walk into the water, you have to protect your skin against the sun or you will burn in its heat.” Gundham explained and took a bottle of sunscreen out of the bag. Making Kazuichi sit down, he began applying the cream onto the other's skin, making sure the child was sufficiently protected from the blazing sun.

“Can we swim now?” Kazuichi was beginning to get restless with waiting.

“Yes, we may.” Gundham agreed, after putting the bottle back into the bag and preparing the swim tube for the child. The young mortal instantly jumped back onto his feet and ran towards the water. Gundham on the other hand was a bit more reluctant with going into the water; though to his luck he did not have to go deep into the ocean, as Kazuichi was not able to go very far due to his small size, even with the usage of the tube.

Kazuichi spent his time swimming in small circles and jumping up whenever a small wave hit them. However after a while, he found a different source of entertainment in form of splashing water against Gundham.

“Are you trying to challenge the great and powerful Overlord of Ice?” Gundham gave the young mortal a dark, yet highly amused look.

“Yes and when I win, ya have to buy me ice cream!” Kazuichi declared, showing his competitive streak that he carried all the way into adulthood, and with this the war between them began. It was actually entertaining for the Overlord to participate in this childish game, though he did not know how one could win in such a simple fight.

When Gundham noticed that the young mortal was starting to get exhausted from all the playing in the water for hours, he held his arms up into the air. “I have to declare my defeat, as you have overpowered me. You have won this battle, young mortal.”

Hearing that he had won yet again, Kazuichi giggled happily and threw his arms into the air. “I won again!”

“Now let us collect your prise.” Gundham held out his hand and as soon as Kazuichi took it, they left the open water.

 

Making Kazuichi sit on a towel, laid out on the sand in the shade of a palm tree, Gundham dried him off before getting the promised treat. Handing one of them to the young mortal, the Overlord then took a seat next to him as both consumed their ice cream.

“Ya are way more fun to play with than my dad.” Kazuichi said while eating the last bit of his treat, “He doesn't like playing with me.” Yet again, Gundham did not know what to say to this. He knew exactly what the child was getting at, as he had been told about what had been going on between Kazuichi and the demon that sired him and it was a complicated topic to talk about with such a young mortal.

“I don't like him much, but I like ya.” Kazuichi played with the now empty ice cream stick, “Can I stay here with ya?” His voice was weak now, weaker than it ever should be for a child.

“You do not need to worry.” Gundham answered, making Kazuichi look up at him, “I will make sure that your father will not hurt you any more.” This had been a thing that Gundham had decided the first moment he had heard about Kazuichi's father and his doings. There was no way that this demon would ever be able to harm the Sharp Toothed One again.

Kazuichi looked up at Gundham, smiling at the statement. He then climbed onto Gundham's lap and took at seat there. “Then ya are my big brother now!”

Never in his whole unholy life had Gundham ever been speechless this many times in one single day and it was hardly midday. Yet it honoured him that this child trusted him so much, to grand him such a title.

“If this is your wish, then you can address me as such.” Gundham smiled and petted the child on his black hair, making Kazuichi giggle.

“There they are!” the Devil Dancer stood at the far end of the beach, together with the One that Caches Memories.

“Tanaka, Souda, we have been looking for you. Lunch is finished and Togami wants us all to gather for it.” Koizumi explained to them, so Gundham and Kazuichi stood up and packed their things, before quickly returning to their respective cottages to get changed into dry clothes.

Gundham was the first to be finished with changing, as the young Kazuichi did not know how one would tie shoes, so Gundham helped him with this task. When they arrived at the dinning room, all of their allies were assembled and as soon as they both took at seat next to the She-Cat, who was reading a book about undoing curses, the Voluminous One gave a report on all the informations they have gathered until now. Sadly it was nothing new, so the students decided together to simply wait for the curse to wear off, while selected few with a high power level kept on researching for a cure. Gundham kept his role as caretaker of the young mortal for the reasons that he already was looking after him, the young Kazuichi seemed to enjoy his company and due to the relationship he had with the adult version of the Pink Haired One.

 

“Oniichan, can we go play again?” Kazuichi sat on the chair, right between the Princess of Darkness and the Overlord of Ice, and let his legs swing back and forth. The title made the She-Cat giggle lightly, yet she gave no comment to it.

“If you wish, then yes we can.” Gundham nodded and cleared their plates away before getting up. Both bid their goodbye to the princess, before leaving the dining room and letting Kazuichi lead their way. The child was scanning the island and kept on holding Gundham's hand, as if he was looking after the adult. Though it seemed like Kazuichi not only did forget his classmates, he had no idea any more what the island had to offer to them and thus just kept on going in circles while trying to find something to play with.

“I dunno what to do, it's borin'.” Kazuichi whined after a while, hanging his body on Gundham's arm, “Are there no playgrounds?”

Gundham could not remember ever seeing a playground and since there are no other children present on the island, there never had been a need before. However there was one place that would fit the young mortal's needs. “I know where we could go, however it should be a surprise.”

“A surprise?” Kazuichi's eyes widened with excitement at the prospect, “What is it?”

“I will show you, but you have to promise to close your eyes until I say that you can open them again.” Gundham answered.

“I promise!” the child exclaimed loudly, fidgeting on the spot. “Please, I want the surprise!”

“Then you have to honour your promise.” Gundham said and picked the child up, setting him on his shoulders. Holding him in place, he looked back towards him, “Now hold your eyes closed until I say that you can open them again, Young One.”

“Okay.” Kazuichi answered happily and did as he was told. After making sure that Kazuichi kept his promise and did not attempt to peak, Gundham began walking towards his destination. The Fourth Island.

 

“You may open your eyes again.” Gundham said as he stood at the entrance of the island and as soon as the young Kazuichi took his hands from his face and thus clearing his vision, he began shrieking with excitement.

“A fair!”

It seemed like Gundham had been right with his assumption that the child would enjoy this opportunity, as long as he did not suffer from motion sickness like his adult self did. Though Gundham gathered that such a young mortal would not use the fast rides anyway, so there should be no problem with this possible predicament. Placing the child back onto the floor, he followed him as Kazuichi immediately ran into the amusement park.

“There's a castle!” Kazuichi looked at the mice themed castle with awe. “Is this Sonia Oneechan's castle?”

“No.” Gundham shook his head, “The princess lives in the hotel cottages, just like the rest of us.”

“Really? But don't princesses live in big castles?” The realisation made Kazuichi look at Gundham, like his whole mortal life had been a lie and he only yet found out the truth. The childish naivety was nearly cute in a strange sense and Gundham was sure that the Tamer of Automations would feel shame for thinking that his close ally lived inside a mice themed amusement park castle, only for the reason that she was a princess.

Kazuichi's shock at the fact that the princess did not live in this realm was easily forgotten, as the child found something else that has caught his interest. So he grabbed Gundham by the hand and walked towards one of the many rides.

Kazuichi tried out most of the rides that were appropriate for children of his age, while Gundham kept him company. As the child was having a high amount of fun with the amusement park – a thing that his adult self was never really able to accomplish, as all the rides designed for adults were of the fast moving or frightening kind – Gundham decided that the two of them could eat from one of the stalls on this evening and not return to the hotel's dinning hall.

 

At the end of the day, the two were sitting inside of the ferris wheel and Kazuichi was kneeling on the seat to look outside.

“We're so high. I can see everything from here.” he marvelled at the height of the ferris wheel, placing his hands against the window of the cart. Yet when a loud yawn left his lips, the young mortal sat down next to Gundham again and looked outside from his seat. “It was so much fun today, thank you Oniichan.” Kazuichi looked at the young adult with tired eyes. Running around for a whole day has begun to take his toll on the child's stamina, rendering him exhausted.

“It was a pleasure.” Gundham answered and after a few moments have passed, Kazuichi's head began leaning against his arm as the child began falling asleep. When the cart in which they were sitting arrived back on the ground, Gundham carefully picked the sleeping child up and left the cart. Kazuichi did not wake from his slumber, though he did start holding onto Gundham despite his sleeping state.

Arriving at Kazuichi's realm, the Overlord took out the keys to the cottage and, after unlocking the door, entered. He laid the sleeping child as carefully as he was able onto the bed, before grabbing a shirt out of Kazuichi's closet and changing the young mortal into it, so that he would be able to sleep comfortably. Just as Gundham turned to leave, something began tugging at his coat. Looking back he saw that Kazuichi was only in a semi-conscious state and was holding onto Gundham's coat and was stopping him from leaving.

“Don't go Oniichan...” Kazuichi mumbled with a tired voice, “I'm scared alone...”

Gundham did not think about the fact that this child, who was in a place he did not know and did not know any of the people that lived here, would be scared to be alone; though he should have.

Taking his coat, scarf and shoes off, as he was sure that he would not leave soon, he sat down onto the bed, right next to the dozing child. Feeling safe now that he knew that Gundham would stay, Kazuichi held onto Gundham's hand and completely fell asleep, his chest moving with every breath he made.

 

Gundham looked at the sleeping child and was thinking about this whole day. He still was not able to tell why Kazuichi turned into his younger self, without any memory of his years as a teenager and his life on this tropical island. And while Gundham had fun playing with the child and being in the role of his caretaker and, as the young mortal called him, older brother, he wished for nothing more than to have his dark consort back. Not even his initial wish to leave the island together with him and all of their allies mattered to him right now. The Overlord would be willing to stay on this island until he gave his last dying breath, if it freed Kazuichi from this dreaded curse and turned him back into the mortal he was in love with.

 

 

***

 

Gundham had not noticed that he had fallen asleep inside of Kazuichi's bed and only was able to register this fact when he opened his eyes the next morning. Wiping the sleep out of his eyes, Gundham sat his body slightly up and was greeted with the sight of wild, pink hair. This made Gundham sit up hastily and he was able to see that Kazuichi was indeed turned back into his usual self.

The sudden movement awoke the Tamer of Automations from his slumber. “Gundham? What the heck are ya doing in my bed?” he asked with a sluggish voice, due to his still lingering tiredness.

“You have held onto me last night, asking me to stay here with you.” Gundham answered. He was overwhelmed with relieve to see his consort back in his usual form.

“I did? Man, I must've been out yesterday.” Kazuichi pushed his hair out of his eyes, sitting fully up now, “But god, I had the weirdest dream last night and it was creepily realistic. I was a toddler and ya had to look after me because of it.”

So it seemed that the other was able to remember the prior day to some extend. It would be a wise thing to fully explain it to him and not leave him in the dark. “I must inform you, that this was not a dream my paramour. You did in fact turn into a young mortal and wished for me to look after you as your older brother, as you called it.”

“What? Are you kidding me?!” the Pink Haired One shrieked with shock, “Why the hell was I a kid?!”

“I sadly have to confess that I do not know who or what has cursed you.” Gundham said and then took this paramour's hand into his own, “But right now I am only glad to have you back at my side, my beloved consort.”

This made Kazuichi's face turn a pink colour and he averted his eyes, “Believe me, I'm also glad not to be a kid again. It was shit the first time around and I really prefer it to be in the same age as you are.” he gently squeezed Gundham's hand back in a form of affection.

Gundham could hardly put his relieve, to see Kazuichi as his usual self again, into words. While had fun looking after the child version, he preferred it immensely to have the One That Held His Heard in his life as the person he fell in love with.

 

***

 

“If I ever see one of you fools on this computer again, I will personally make your lives even more miserable than they already are!” Byakuya warned Hina and Hiro, as both kept on apologising for their actions. “I don't want to do another all-nighter to fix your mistakes. How did you two idiots even manage to make the Neo World Program load this fool's avatar as his four year old self?”

Makoto, who also had been awake the whole night together with Kyoko and Byakuya, raised his head from his desk. “They didn't do it on purpose, so we don't have to make them feel bad for a simple mistake.”

“That was no simple mistake, it was a huge one. Just imagine if we hadn't been able to restore his original avatar before the simulation was over. If that happened, the avatar of his four year old self would have been uploaded into Souda and then he would have been a literal child in the body of an adult.” Byakuya crossed his arms in annoyance.

Makoto had to agree that Byakuya was correct with this statement. If they hadn't been successful, Souda would've ended as a child and all of his memories of his life would've been deleted. Still the luckster didn't believe that his friends deserved any form of punishment for doing a mistake, now that the problem was solved after they all worked together.

“Okay, you are right with this. But let us go to bed now and get some sleep. We can discuss this later, okay?” Makoto stood up from his chair and pulled Byakuya up onto his feet. “Kyoko, are you also going to bed now?”

Said detective was still typing something into the computer, “I will just check that everything is back to normal again and that all of the additional items that we installed are deleted again. You four can already leave.”

“Then we will see you later. Goodnight you all.” Makoto smiled, before pulling the still irritated heir away from Hina and Hiro, before he was able to say anything more.


End file.
